


Lethe

by gflippy



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-11-27 16:40:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18196709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gflippy/pseuds/gflippy
Summary: I'm not sure where this is going to go, necessarily. I just have a story in my head that needs to come out. It ties in a lot of threads, beginning the first year for the most famous class of Hogwarts students before they became the Marauders and splintered into factions before the first Wizarding War.Chapter one opens with McGonagall stressing to prepare for the new term, dreading the arrival of a mysterious new student from America, and trying to find a solution to a pesky young werewolf problem.This is the first time I've written something like this. Be gentle, but please offer feedback!





	Lethe

Chapter 1 - An Unwelcome Refugee  
Minerva McGonagall was in no mood for Dumbledore's games today. With three weeks before the start of the school year, there was still too much to be done to have to deal with a long-lost niece with a sordid past. And to think that the Headmaster would actually allow this child to simply drop into their lives unannounced, unvetted, and with an array of behavioral difficulties in tow. It was absurd, dangerous, even. She gave a half-snort of disdain as she barked the latest ridiculous password at the stone gargoyle, only slightly amused by her colleague's affinity for Muggle sweets. As she ascended the spiraling staircase, she began to recite her speech in her mind; but as she raised her hand to knock on his office door, it opened and all the stern words flew away.  
“Ah, Minerva. I’m glad you’re here. Please, come in.” There was amusement behind his half-moon glasses. And she hated that. He pointed congenially to the armchair by the fire. “Please. Sit. Tea?” A tray with a setting for two appeared between them.  
“No, I’m afraid there isn’t time.” She pointed at the parchment with the Ilvermorny crest he was holding. “Professor Dumbledore, please tell me you are not seriously considering this request.”  
The old wizard rolled up the parchment, having to stop and unroll it slightly as his long beard got caught up in it. “Why, Professor? I would have thought you would be thrilled to find out you have a...let’s see...what WOULD we call her?”  
“We wouldn’t call her anything. Because she doesn’t belong here. There must be very good reasons for Ilvermorny to not take her. Surely you must have heard the rumors.”  
Dumbledore’s face was dark, “Oh yes. Such a sad story. The poor girl must have been so frightened.”  
Minerva straightened a hair taller. “From what I hear, she might not have been entirely innocent. The fire was…”  
“Yes, well,” interrupted Dumbledore, “We know how damaging hearsay can be, Minerva. And I trust you will have the wisdom to discern the situation for yourself once you meet her. I would imagine you will want to spend as much time as you can with...dear me, what exactly is she to you?”  
“Nothing. The girl is nothing to me. My father’s grandfather’s brother who crossed the sea with the Puritans of all people in search of fortune...preposterous. The girl is-”  
“Alone. And frightened. And an orphan. She is also a witch in need of a school. And as it so happens, we are happy to provide.” Dumbledore’s light tone was tinged with a hint of consternation.  
Ashamed, Minerva bowed her head slightly, “Well, all the same, I...can’t imagine a situation in which I would have to meet her.”  
Dumbledore smiled knowingly, and a sinking sensation filled her stomach, “Oh, I think you two will meet very soon, my dear Professor McGonagall.”  
“But Professor, there is still so much to prepare. Now is not ideal. This year shall present many challenges, as I’m sure you are well aware. In addition to Bellatrix, we will now be hosting another...volatile...Black. Sirius. As well as several students who are Muggle-born which is sure to make several Slytherins uneasy. And that is to say nothing of the werewolf problem which you have yet to resolve, even though you swore to the Lupins that you would. Perhaps we should wait and receive her midway through the year?”  
“Ah, yes! I was hoping you would bring up the Lupin boy. You see, I believe this girl...the one you say does not belong...has the answer to that sticky situation.” He seemed quite proud of himself as he beamed in delight over his spectacles.  
“What could she possibly…?”  
“You know how we found a secure place for the boy just outside the grounds?”  
“Yes, that dingy little shack. I know it.”  
“The girl has tamed something that can guard the entrance to his refuge. Something that will serve as a formidable obstacle to anyone who might be curious enough to follow him on his monthly excursions. And it would make a lovely addition to our growing menagerie of rare magical beasts on the grounds. Though, of course, this isn’t so much a beast as it is a tree.”  
Minerva could not stop her jaw from dropping. “A tree?”  
“Oh yes,” Dumbledore looked up from the dish of lemon drops he was investigating. “A willow.”  
There was a silence between them that was only interrupted by a periodic crackle in the fire.  
“You can see for yourself, Minerva. The girl is waiting for you in your office.”


End file.
